To encapsulate or not — that is the question in our newest CMM Online Poll.

It is a question that every facilities manager, custodial technician, janitorial supervisor, cleaning specialist and their mother — actually, his or her mother will not likely be an authority on this, but it would be dandy if everyone understood cleaning — should know and be able to justify on some educated level: Is encapsulation integrated into your regimen of caring for carpets?

Encapsulation — often referred to as interim cleaning — is employed by many to keep their carpets looking cleaner and smelling fresher in between daily vacuuming and periodic deep cleaning.

But, some operations are unaware of the practice; others find the process time-consuming, strenuous on budgets, impractical for workloading, unnecessary, etc. — perhaps a combination of explanations.

With the increase in outsourcing, some in-house staffs are no longer tasked with cleaning and maintaining carpets — if they ever were to begin with — but should still have some insight as to what is being done by a contracted cleaner or an autonomous department because each cleaning task is interconnected and affects the holistic cleanliness and health of a building.